Wakesurfing with the normal crew at Camp Far West Lake yesterday, 30 feet from shore, ran my 2 week old OJ Prop through a giant boulder, a few feet below the surface. I was watching the depth gauge as it read right around 20' deep for several hundred feet along the shore. Then all of a sudden the gauge went from 20' to 4' in seconds. SMACK!

Damn you did a hell of a job destroying that prop. If it makes you feel any better we were at Lake Oconee one time a good 50 yards from shore and ran the boat aground and destroyed the prop and rudder in an area that wasn't marked as a hazard area at all.

[QUOTE=dDubya;1610313]Wakesurfing with the normal crew at Camp Far West Lake yesterday, 30 feet from shore,

30 feet from shore? First of isn't that illegal? 30 feet is ridiculously close to shore to be wakeboarding, surfing, skiing, etc......

In Washington I think you are suppose to be at least 200 feet off shore when traveling over 7 mph. Is it a really skinny lake where you can't be off shore that far.
Anyways, that sucks that you destroyed a brand new prop.

I've seen props that were WAY worse repaired. Metal missing just means they have to weld a little more back in. You pretty much have to break a couple blades completely off, and wrap the rest around the hub for it to be unrepairable.

Sorry to hear that! We hit a rock couple weeks ago first night at the lake just coming into the dock (the lake is down). Just got back from taking it to the shop and he advised not to fix it. Some small cracks in it. Said he could do it but it may fold up later on just under normal conditions, of course it may not too. Anyway just ordered a new one, thank god I had a spare or it would have been a miserable week at the lake.

I feel your pain. I hit something 4th of July and was screwed for the week. Thought I would buy another for a spare. I got the new OJ Fusion what a big difference it makes. I can weigh down untill water comes in the boat and this prop will plane out like nothing to it!

Damn where was that in the channel? I ride there 3-4 days a week so knowing ALL the hazards would be nice hahah. Although I am likely never 30 feet from shore. Thats a bummer though bud, my buddy hit his prop on a rock last year and mangled the hell out of it, yours looks pretty compared to his but they still managed to repair and it works nicely now!

Sorry to hear that! We hit a rock couple weeks ago first night at the lake just coming into the dock (the lake is down). Just got back from taking it to the shop and he advised not to fix it. Some small cracks in it. Said he could do it but it may fold up later on just under normal conditions, of course it may not too. Anyway just ordered a new one, thank god I had a spare or it would have been a miserable week at the lake.

Shop... dealer, or an actual prop shop? If it was a dealer, 9:1 he just preferred to sell a new prop.

There is a rock just before you enter the arm on the left, about 30 feet off the shoreline, is this where you were? Bad thing about Camp Far West is it is a private lake and they do not mark any hazards. I told the front desk/store about the rock 2 feet under the water that they should throw a marker on it to avoid someone damaging there boat or falling on it skiing and nothing was ever done! There was someone skiing out there the other day with his girlfriend and no spotter, just the two of them..... what a bunch of idiots, they deserved a ticket!

Sorry about your prop, hopefully you have a spare or can get that one rebuilt?

Shop... dealer, or an actual prop shop? If it was a dealer, 9:1 he just preferred to sell a new prop.

If they find cracks, they weld them up. This is not rocket science.

Took it to the prop shop. He said he could do it ($100). Who knows could have gone that route and never had a problem with it, or could have spent the $100 and had it fail. I bought the prop online so no affiliation with the prop guy.

Hey Dan- we were up there on Sunday night riding and skiing with our crew. I'm new to the lake and would like to avoid the same mistake. Any chance you have a good description of exactly where you were in the river/channel? Also, if you are ever looking for a third or would like to come out on our 215, feel free to shoot me a message. Hope you're back up and running quickly.

I lost a 3 blade on a sandbar when the woman towed me between a buoy and shore....as I was frantically waving to go outside. I let go and heard the clunk. Doh!
Replaced the prop with a 4 blade..all excited to get back on the water....NOPE...bent shaft. Damn!
Check everything.

We hit a boulder out at Shaver Lake, CA. By the way, that lake is full of underwater boulders, and they do not mark them. Anywho, tore off our rudder completely, bent the shaft, our gel coat/ fiberglass looked like David's (but a lot more spider cracks), and our prop was the worst our Malibu dealer had seen. David's prop is unreal. Our damage was $8500. They spent 40 hours just repairing the fiberglass and gelcoat. Got pics at home. I'll post them later.

shiny! Here is a lesson for new boat owners. Do not back your trailer in too far! It is possible to overshoot everything until the prop hits the trailer. The damage was minor since I was at idle. But the cost of a new prop right after buying a boat really sucks. This reminds me I need to send in my old prop to get it retooled.